Brazilian resin producer Braskem announced at K 2016 that Polarbröd, Sweden’s third largest bakery, will be converting all of its flexible film requirements from fossil-based polyethylene to Braskem’s biobased I’m green drop-in bio-polyethylene. Polarbröd, a fifth-generation family-owned company with strong sustainability principles, said the decision to switch to a biobased packaging alternative was motivated by the company’s aim for more sustainability, despite the premium on the new material.

“We have made the decision to use this packaging for our entire range, and although the current consequence of this is a higher cost we have come to the conclusion that it is the best choice,” says Johan Granberg, Purchase and Logistics Manager at Polarbröd. Moreover, Polarbröd sees an excellent ‘fit’ between ‘green’ packaging and the bakery’s products.

As a result of the change, Polarbröd will not only significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its packaging compared to fossil-based alternatives, but also reduce the company’s dependence on non-renewable, depletable fossil resources.

Sugarcane, as a renewable feedstock, captures and sequestrates CO2 from the atmosphere during every growth cycle, which occurs annually. This means that the production of I'm green Polyethylene contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions: studies considering the raw materials extraction to product production -  "cradle to gate analyses”-  show that the carbon footprint of I'm green Polyethylene is negative. For every kg of I’m green Polyethylene used in the Polarbröd packaging more than 4.5 kg of CO2 is saved.

 “Braskem is really excited to have Polarbröd as a partner and to see their commitment to sustainability by introducing green PE into their full product range, a scale not yet seen in bakeries anywhere in the world,” says Marco Jansen, Commercial Director Renewable Chemicals Europe & North America.